Updated: Wimberley boy missing after being lured from home

Update

10:45 p.m. TUESDAY, NOV. 19: Benjamin Cotton Auberry, the 7-year-old boy missing from his Wimberley home since Monday morning, has been located somewhere north of Tulsa, Okla., Hays County Sheriff’s Office deputy Thomas Ormsby said this evening.

As suspected, the boy was with his mother, Stephanie Cotton, who did not have custody of the child. She took him to the home of the boy’s biological father whose family alerted authorities. Ormsby did not immediately know the father’s name.

Arrangements are being made to extradite Stephanie Cotton back to Hays County where she faces charges of first-degree felony burglary and with interference with a child custody order. The boy will be returned to legal guardian in Wimberley, whose relationship has not yet been described.

Benjamin Cotton Auberry

Earlier

11:47 a.m. TUESDAY, NOV. 19: A 7-year-old child was lured from his Wimberley home Monday morning by his non-custodial mother and authorities say he may be in danger.

Stephanie Cotton

The Hays County Sheriff’s Office is asking for the public’s help in locating Benjamin Cotton Auberry, described as having blonde hair, hazel eyes and weighing 57 pounds.

The boy’s mother, 31-year-old Stephanie Cotton, fled with him in in a 2000 white Dodge Caliber with Texas license plate number DR8D091, Hays County Sheriff’s Lt. Jeri Skrocki said this morning. The mother is described as a white female, with brown hair and brown eyes and 5 foot, 6 inches tall.

Two felony arrest warrants for burglary and interfering with child custody have been issued for Cotton, whom deputies describe as having an extensive criminal history.

Court records show Cotton has been charged with 27 crimes in Hays County since 2001, most of them minor, traffic-related offenses. Her rap sheet also includes harassment, evading arrest, and misdemeanor assault.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Hays County Sheriff’s Office at 512-393-7800 or your local law enforcement agency.

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